Between
the rain and the darkness of night, Aesiri couldn’t see anything through the
windows of the Lohill tavern, and there was a somewhat tense, awkward silence
among the few late-night tavern-goers, broken intermittently by cracks of
thunder. Nonetheless, right now Aesiri didn’t have a care in the world; after
such a long day of travelling, she was happy to relax, enjoy the warmth of the
hearth, and drink.
“You
don’t think you’ve had one too many ales already, Aesiri?” There was concern in Elidoan’s voice and expression.
Aesiri
paused for a second. “I don’t feel too drunk. Besides, it’s been a long day.”
She got up from their table and staggered a bit as she made her way to the bar,
where an orc and a troll sat silently, slowly working on their drinks, as the dwarf
barkeeper looked up from his book.
“Yer
a bit lightweight for another ale, aren’t ya, lass?” the barkeeper nodded,
failing to hold back an amused smile.
“Believe
me, it’s been a long day.” Aesiri handed the barkeeper her mug.
“Mm.
I hear ya there, elf.” The dwarf took the mug and filled it from a tap. “Don’t
get me wrong, I don’t blame ya. Tonight’s a night to sit around and take in
this lovely weather, right?”
Aesiri
smiled. “Lovely, all right.” The barkeeper handed Aesiri her mug, almost
overflowing with frothy ale. “Thanks,” she said as she handed the dwarf two
gold coins. She turned and started to walk back to Elidoan’s table, still
slightly staggering. As Aesiri took her seat, the sound of pounding rain and
roaring wind turned her head – and those of the other visitors - to the opening
door of the tavern. A cloaked human man with medium-length graying hair entered
and closed the door behind him, once again muffling the sounds of the storm. He
made his way to the bar, his eyes shifting around the tavern.
“Wow.
Aust Goldfang! It’s been a while!” exclaimed the barkeeper. “How’s it been?”
The
man – Aust – gave a faint half-smile. “I’ve seen better days, old friend. For
now, though, I’ll have my old usual.”
The
dwarf handed Aust a mug. “Good to see ya again.” Aust silently took the mug and
turned to look around the tavern. Upon seemingly noticing an orc in red and
black robes, sitting at a table in the corner, Aust walked over and took a seat
across from the orc.
“Aesiri,
stop staring!” Elidoan whispered.
Aesiri
snapped out of her stupor. “Sorry, it’s just… Aust Goldfang. Here, in this
tavern.”
“Who?”
“That
man, right there!” She motioned her head at Aust, who was talking quietly to
the orc at his table. “You’ve never heard of the Goldfangs?”
“No,
I can’t say I have.”
Aesiri
couldn’t help but to be slightly surprised, but as she thought about it she realized
that Elidoan knew very little about the world of arcane magic. “The Goldfangs
are pretty much famous for their developments in arcane artifice. Before their
work, only basic spells could be bound to objects. They’ve been inactive since
Aust’s father passed away, and I haven’t really heard anything about what Aust
has been up to. And now he’s right there!”
Elidoan
nodded with a vaguely impressed expression on her face. “So… are you going to
ask for his autograph?”
Aesiri
smirked at her friend. “Funny.” She took a sip of her ale, letting silence
resume as she pretended to drop the topic. Silence, enough so that her elven
ears could hear Aust and the orc.
“You
really can guarantee my protection? I hear there’s quite a bounty on my head,”
said Aust.
“It’s
only right,” said the orc. “It’s your manor, it’s your family’s work. I have a
party of skilled mercenaries ready to give their lives to make sure you get
there.”
Aust
nodded. “What do you ask for?”
“Twenty-five
thousand in advance. Thirty thousand on arrival.”
“Okay,
what?!” Aesiri burst as she got up from her table, turning every head in the
tavern. She started walking towards Aust and the orc. “You’re asking Aust
Goldfang for fifty-five thousand gold?”
“This
is none of your business, elf. Consider, though: fifty-five thousand gold –
near pocket change for a family as esteemed as Goldfang – or Aust’s life?”
“That’s
ridiculous! Don’t act like that much gold isn’t anything!” Aesiri turned to
Aust. “I’m sorry to interrupt your business, but don’t you think that’s a bit
much?”
Aust
held a grim look. “I have little choice, elf. Why the concern?”
“I know about your family,” Aesiri started.
“You’ve done so much for the world. I know that whatever is at your manor is
probably priceless, but come on. If this orc cared about your work, he wouldn’t
ask for a small fortune from you!”
Aust
paused for a second. “What do you propose?”
Aesiri
froze, realizing what she’d just gotten herself into. Now she had little
choice, too: “My friend and I will escort you. I’m a fire mage, and she’s
trained as an assassin.”
“Ha!”
The orc bellowed. “The underworld watching this man’s every step has little care
for two elves.”
Aust
turned to Aesiri. “I’m afraid he’s right,” he started. Aesiri could hear the
regret in his voice. “I must prioritize my safety. You and your friend look
like seasoned travelers, but I can’t leave my life to chance.”
The
orc nodded. “You understand, elf.” Aesiri did understand, but she was getting
annoyed with this orc. Aust indeed had little choice, and it pained Aesiri to
see a man of his renown be exploited.
Suddenly,
the larger orc sitting at the bar and wearing a brown tunic got up and
approached Aust’s table. Without warning, he spit at the sitting orc. “I can tell
from the way you talk. You’re scum.”
“How
dare you!” The robed orc got up from his chair and glared at his assailant.
The
larger orc turned to Aust. “My troll friend and I will join the elves in
escorting you. I can’t speak for them, but I ask for nothing in return. I bring
my mighty axe, and my ally is skilled in arcane frost magic.”
There
was silence for a moment. Aust then turned to the robed orc. “Can you beat
free?”
The
robed orc said nothing, his eyes darting between Aust, the larger orc, and Aesiri.
He slowly nodded. “I only wish you good luck. And I assure you, I do care for
this man’s work.” He made his way out of the tavern, out of sight into the dark
rain.
“I
appreciate your offer,” said Aust with a sigh. “My family actually isn’t as
well off as we used to be.”
“I’m
just happy to help,” said Aesiri, slightly giddy from her excitement over
working with such a renowned artificer. She looked back to Elidoan, who
appeared slightly dumbstruck, likely from being pulled into an inevitable mess.
Aesiri nodded at her friend, who shook her head and walked over to the group
standing around Aust. The robed troll from the bar made his way to the group as
well.
“We
were going to leave tomorrow morning. If this works for all of you, great; the
sooner we can make it to my manor, the better,” said Aust. “And please, allow
me to compensate your efforts, at least in some way. As I told the orc, there
is something of a bounty on my life, and it seems meaningless for you to risk
yours for this old man.”
“No,
really!” Aesiri shook her head. “Whatever you’re risking travelling for must be
important. And with what your family’s done for the world, ‘important’ to you
may be mind-blowing to me.”
Aust
paused, then nodded. “Admirable. What is your name, elf?”
“I’m
Aesiri. Happy to meet you.”
Aust
faintly smiled. “My pleasure, Aesiri.” He looked around. “My offer stands for
the rest of you.” Silence. “I have a good feeling already. May I have your
names?”
“Elidoan.”
“Gurnug,”
nodded the orc.
“I’m
Orak,” said the robed troll.
“My
name is Validium!” Aesiri turned to see a young human man with brown hair
wearing gray robes, whom she hadn’t noticed at all over the course of the
night. The group was silent for a second; looking around, Aesiri noticed the
others looked as confused as she was. Where was this guy the whole time?
“Validium.”
Gurnug the orc slowly nodded. “How can you help us? Where were you when we were
dealing with that dick of an orc?”
“Well,”
started Validium, appearing slightly embarrassed. “I’m a priest, trained in
holy magic. Just now, I was…” He paused, appearing nervous as he evidently
searched for words. Aesiri was finding this human amusing.
“The
lad was sittin’ in the corner, watchin’ yer little quarrel and sippin’ on his
ale,” the barkeeper interrupted from across the room. Validium turned red.
After
a moment of apparent thought, Aust nodded. “Well, your magic should prove
useful, if you want to join us.”
“I’d
be honored!” Validium smiled with visible relief.
Aust
yawned. “It grows late. Personally, I can’t wait to wake up to a clear sky. I
will see you all outside this tavern at noon. Rest well.” The old human started
to walk towards the door, then stopped and turned back to the group. “And,
thank you.” Aust opened the door and left into the dark street.
As
soon as the door closed behind Aust, Elidoan turned to Aesiri with a smirk.
“You know, your ability to drag me into dangerous ‘adventures’ always amazes
me.”
Flattering,
but Aesiri was wondering about what was ahead of them, herself. “Honestly, I
didn’t think that one through. It’s just low, you know? No matter what kind of
breakthrough Aust may have in his lab, that orc just wanted his gold.”
Elidoan
smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll see you at the inn.” She turned and started
to walk towards the door. Aesiri started to follow her friend, still feeling a
bit tipsy, when a large hand grabbed her shoulder. She looked: it was Gurnug.
“You’re
a brave elf, to throw yourself into trouble as you did. I look forward to seeing
your magic in action.”
Aesiri
smiled. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She followed Elidoan out of the tavern.
***
“Wake up! Bandits approach!” Gurnug’s shouts startled
Aesiri out of her sleep. She stood up, grabbed her enchanted elven long sword,
and looked around as she came to. It must have been early in the morning, as the
sky was dimly lit. Elidoan, Validium, and Aust were getting up from their
bedrolls, and Orak and Gurnug stood armed near the center of the forest
clearing in which the party had stopped to rest after a day of largely
uneventful travel. Sure enough, a large human man wearing chainmail rode into
the clearing on a brown horse. Four mounted hooded men followed.
“Ha!” The large bandit spat, slowly approaching the party
as he drew his short sword. “We end up here looking for a place to rest, and we
find Aust Goldfang.”
“I can pay you more,” said Aust firmly.
“Probably not, at least from what I’ve heard about what
happened to your family’s fortune.”
“You have no idea what you’re doing.” The bandit leader
stood silently for a moment as the other bandits approached him, facing Aust.
Suddenly, Gurnug let out a savage orcish roar and he charged the bandit leader,
slamming into his horse and knocking him over. One of the other bandits started
to charge towards Gurnug, but was suddenly completely deep-frozen; Aesiri
looked to see Orak gathering cold energy into a spell, to then unleash it in a
giant icy spear that burst from his hands at the frozen bandit. The spear
shattered the frozen bandit into countless icy bits.
Aesiri invoked a barrage of fireballs at one of the
bandits, who managed to dodge only one before being stunned by another, then
slammed with a dozen small, burning orbs. The bandit fell to the ground, his
clothes charred. Aesiri looked to see that Elidoan was engaged in a fast
swordfight with another bandit, who was frantically blocking her rapid strikes.
The bandit managed to parry one of her attacks, then seized the moment to
follow up with a kick that knocked Elidoan over. Just as the bandit readied a
final attack, Aesiri stretched her hand in his direction. Instantly, the ground
cracked under the bandit, then a pillar of fire burst from the crack, engulfing
the bandit in flame before he could react. The flame soon subsided, and nothing
was left.
Elidoan stood up and looked at Aesiri, panting. “You’re a
crazy elf, you know?”
Aesiri smiled. “You’re welcome.” She then looked to the
rest of the battle, which was seemingly winding down in their favor. Gurnug was
in the midst of dominating the last standing bandit, who was struggling to
dodge and block Gurnug’s relentless axe-swings. Finally, Aust readied his bow
and then shot an arrow at the bandit. The arrow pierced the bandit’s side,
stunning him for the one second Gurnug needed to slice him open. The bandit
fell to the ground, bleeding.
The bandit leader knelt on the ground, panting. “Just who
is after me?” Aust asked as he drew a dagger.
“You want the truth?” the bandit started. “I don’t know.
No one has any idea. He always sends his servant to deliver his messages. And
you have to see, he offers ridiculous rewards.”
This news seemed to strike Aust, as his eyes widened. “Who
is his servant?”
“Not sure about that, either. Every time we saw him, he
was wearing a dark, hooded cloak.”
Aust shook his head. “Fucking useless.” He turned from
the bandit to the party. “Let’s go. The sounds of combat will draw unwanted
attention. Aesiri, please cast a sleeping charm on this low-life.”
“Gladly,” Aesiri nodded. She pointed her hand at the
bandit and quickly invoked a minor spell to instantly send him into a deep
slumber. The party hurried out of the forest clearing, resuming their journey
to Aust’s manor. Somehow, Aesiri had forgotten that Validium was with them
until then.
***
“We’re close,” said Aust as the group continued up a path,
making their way out of the forest. “I’m surprised we haven’t encountered any
more bounty hunters.”
“Surprised?” asked Validium. “Aren’t you thankful? Don’t
you think we’ve been lucky?”
“The way I see it,” started Aust, still walking without
looking at Validium. “I would be thankful if we did have a chance to dispose of
more scum. Isn’t the world polluted enough?”
“I like the way you think, human,” said Gurnug with a smile.
Aesiri, on the other hand, was surprised to hear Aust’s somewhat brutal
reasoning, but then again she wasn’t the one who was literally being hunted.
“Wait,” said Orak. “Look, in the distance.” The troll
pointed his light green-blue finger down the path; the orc from the tavern was
approaching them, alone.
“Really..?” Aesiri let out an angry sigh. “What do you want?” she shouted at the orc.
The orc, wearing the same red and black robes, did not
respond as he slowly approached Aust. He stopped a few yards away. “You know
where we are. They’ve been waiting for this.”
“So, you’ll protect us from the inevitable ambush if we
give you our gold?” Aesiri asked sarcastically.
“The gold was largely for my mercenaries, you can keep
yours,” the orc said to Aesiri. He turned to Aust. “I come to you alone, and I
ask to join your escort.”
“Really?” Aesiri
had a hard time believing what she’d just heard, or at least the intent behind
it.
“Aesiri.” Aust turned to her with a stern look. She let
out another frustrated sigh, then folded her arms. Aust turned back to the orc.
“Why should we take you with us? Who are you, anyway?”
“My name is Arcin. Many would label me as a ‘warlock,’
but I call myself a sorcerer. I never doubted the importance of your studies, Goldfang.
It would be a shame for such miraculous technology to fall into the wrong
hands.”
Aust paused for a moment, then slowly nodded. “Very well,
Arcin. I’m all for a better chance of surviving an ambush.” Aesiri was afraid
Aust would say that. Objecting may not go anywhere; she decided she’d just keep
an eye on the orc. “We should keep moving.”
There was an eerie, threatening silence as the party
neared the tall, slightly rusted gates of the manor. Aesiri had been listening
for distant movement, but so far she hadn’t heard anything, and they hadn’t
been attacked – yet. Aust opened the gates, and the group proceeded through,
onto a stone path heading to the house itself. The grounds of the manor were
vast, and the fact that Aust hadn’t been there in a while was evident through
the tall, paling grass around path, swaying in the breeze. The house itself was
large, and it was too dark inside to see anything but blackness through the
many windows.
The group slowly and cautiously walked down the stone
path, towards the doors of the house. Still, silence. As they reached the
doors, Aust stopped and turned to the party. “It’s a bit peculiar to me that we
still haven’t been attacked. Be on your guard.” Indeed, the idea that any
bounty hunter wouldn’t wait for Aust
Goldfang at his house seemed dumb to Aesiri.
Aust
opened the front doors, and the party entered into a dark, great hall. Aesiri
was stricken by the grandness of the room; a large chandelier hung unlit, and a
carpeted staircase led both up and downstairs. Yet still, it was silent. Aesiri
turned to Aust, who was slowly looking around, contemplatively. It had probably
been a while since he’d seen this room – maybe the last time he did, it was lit
more warmly. “Where are we going?” asked Aesiri, breaking the silence.
Aust
looked to Aesiri, around the group, then back to her. “You’re coming with me.
Everyone else, guard the staircase.”
“Respectfully,
Aust, why her?” asked Arcin.
“She’s
the only one who actually knows anything about arcane artifice.” Aesiri smiled
as she noted the orc’s glare. “Come, Aesiri.”
“Right
behind you,” Aesiri said. She followed Aust down two tall fleets of stairs.
“Are we really going to the lab?”
“Of
course. Where else would anything valuable be in this forsaken house?” Aesiri’s
earlier dissatisfaction with the addition to their party was overridden by her
newfound excitement at the idea of seeing the Goldfangs’ artifice lab. There
was pretty much no telling what would be inside.
“Can
I ask what we’re looking for?”
“You
can, but I won’t tell you until we’re inside.”
“Fair
enough.” Aesiri followed Aust down a hall, to a plain door without a knob.
“Just
one moment,” said Aust. He took off a glove to reveal a gold ring, and then
placed his hand on the door. A doorknob seemingly faded into existence, and
Aust turned it to open the door, entering the dark artifice labs.
As
soon as Aesiri and Aust entered, four glass spheres in the corners of the lab
filled with arcane light, illuminating the room, which was decently large but
smaller than Aesiri had expected. Countless shelves of books and magic
materials lined the walls up to the ceiling, and strange artifacts – none of
which Aesiri had ever seen the likes of – were scattered across three spaced
out tables.
“We
are here,” Aust started, interrupting Aesiri’s curious scanning. “For a, shall
I say, improved version of the same magic heart that keeps me alive.”
Aesiri
never saw this coming. She’d heard quickly-quieted rumors of Aust’s death years
ago, but she never would have guessed that he actually died – and that an
arcane artifact now kept him breathing. Aust’s death, Aust’s father’s death,
and the family’s loss of most of their fortune seemed to line up. Who knew how
much it cost to create a heart? And, she wondered:
“Improved?
What do you mean?”
Aust
took a deep breath. “When my new heart was implanted in me, I had been dead for
no more than a few days. My body was restored to life, and little was lost,
aside from my actual – ‘old,’ that is – heart. But that in itself was a
breakthrough. My father knew he had something promising in his hands, but he
died before he completed this improvement. I worked from his death until I was
driven from here to finish it, and now, in this room, is an artifact that can
restore life to even the most rotten corpse.”
Aesiri
needed a second to take in what she’d just heard. This was beyond what she
thought was possible for arcane magic. “How?”
“I
wouldn’t tell you,” started Aust. “If you didn’t seem so damned innocent. Red
dragon’s blood, and as much arcane electricity as three bronze dragons’
breaths.” Genius. It would come from
dragons. Aust, seemingly acknowledging the weight of what he’d just told
Aesiri, silently walked to the wall at the end of the room. He placed his
ring-bearing hand on the wall, and a square of wall faded into nothingness,
revealing a glass orb that pulsed sparkling red light. He carefully took the
orb, and placed it in a sack he produced. “We need to leave. Just because we
haven’t been attacked yet doesn’t mean we’re safe.”
“Right,”
said Aesiri. Still thinking over what she’d heard, she followed Aust out of the
room, back into the dark hall, where the party waited.
“Did
you get what you came for?” Elidoan asked.
“Yes,”
said Aust. “Now, we must leave. It isn’t safe here.”
“There’s
no hurry, Goldfang,” said Arcin.
Silence,
for a moment. “There isn’t?” said Aesiri.
“The
bounty has been called off. And now, you will hand over that artifact,
Goldfang.”
The
party’s eyes widened as they stood quietly. The silence was suddenly broken by
Aesiri laughing. “Oh, man!” she said after she calmed down. “I knew it! You all
didn’t believe me, this orc is evil as-”
“SILENCE,
ELF!” Arcin bellowed as he started to quickly draw dark power into his hand –
too slow. Aesiri sparked the surrounding arcane energy, interrupting the orc’s
spell. She grinned as he roared in frustration.
“Are
you serious?” Aust snapped. “Why do you want it?”
“I
could ask you the same, Aust.”
“How
stupid! This is a breakthrough! Lives can be changed, lives can be saved, and
I’m not going to let such a miracle of an artifact go to waste!”
“Whose
lives?”
Aust
paused. Slowly, he started: “Those who would benefit from a second chance.”
“Then,”
a new, raspy voice said from behind Arcin. “I don’t see our problem.” A figure
revealed itself, stepping from the shadows into sight. He wore black and gray
hooded robes, his flesh was uncolored and pale, and his eyes glowed a haunting
light blue; some form of undead clearly stood before the dumbstruck party.
“What
is this!” Aust scoffed. “Who are you? What are you doing in my house?”
The
undead man gave a vague smile. “I have gone by many names; the one you might
have heard, Toofa.”
“Toofa?”
Aesiri blurted. “You’re real?”
“How
observant, elf.”
“Toofa?”
Elidoan asked.
“A
human sorcerer. Made a name for himself searching for immortality, and we all
thought he died in his chase.” Aesiri paused for a second, putting two and two
together. “There isn’t much other explanation: he’s made himself a lich.”
“Impressive
knowledge for one so young. There’s even more to you than meets the eye. I hope
you understand, there is a certain, very visible downside to the immortality I
finally found. What Goldfang has created is truly what I’ve been after for
decades.” Toofa was silent for a short moment. “A second chance.”
“You
gave yourself a second chance!” Validium burst. “You used some dark, fucked up
magic! What is it, your soul is in a vial somewhere?”
Toofa
turned to Validium and stared at him with his cold, lifeless eyes. “You’re an
annoying one.” He then looked back to Aust. “We’ve spoken long enough. I will
have what I came for, thank you.” In an instant, Toofa raised his bony hand,
and shadowy tendrils burst from the ground, wrapping around each of the
adventurers and rooting them in place. The lich then thrust his hand towards
Aust, and clenched a fist.
“You
unliving… bastard…” Aust strained himself to say. He started to walk towards
Toofa, slowly enough to imply some sort of resistance. Aesiri’s eyes widened as
she realized the hopelessness in the fact that Aust had just been
mind-controlled by Toofa’s dark magic.
“Damn
you! DAMN YOU!” Aesiri screamed, her own powerlessness agonizing her. Unable to
bear witnessing such a fucked up victory, Aesiri clenched her eyes, thinking in
circles about how she should have seen this coming, before she heard a loud
shattering sound, followed by the unmistakable smell of burned flesh. She
opened her eyes, and saw that Arcin was on the ground, blood seeping out of
where shards of the magic heart struck him. The clothing and flesh on his chest
was burned beyond recognition, evidently by volatile dragon blood. Aust held
the empty sack that had contained the magic heart as he stood, panting.
“It’s
too bad that had to happen,” said Toofa. He paused for a second, then thrust
his hand at Aust, who instantly let out a harrowing scream as he dropped the
sack and fell to the floor, gripping his head with both hands as his mouth
frothed and his nose bled.
“Scum!”
Gurnug roared. The mighty orc broke from the grip of the tendrils and quickly
leaped at Toofa, slicing the lich in half with his great axe. With this, the
shadowy tendrils evaporated and the adventurers were freed. As soon as she
could move, Aesiri ran to Aust, who was mostly motionless. Gurnug stood over
the bisected Toofa.
“You
realize,” started Toofa, still conscious despite his dismemberment. “How futile
this is?”
“I
ask you the same.” Gurnug stomped Toofa’s head into the ground.
Aust
was breathing very slowly, wheezing with every breath. “Aust,” Aesiri started.
“Toofa’s gone. But so is the heart.”
“That’s…
okay. That’s… good.” Aust coughed up blood. “Elf… take my ring. Labs are…
yours.”
Aesiri’s
eyes widened. “I don’t know what to say,” she started. “I’m not going to say
no. I’m… honored.”
Aust gave a hint of a smile, closing his eyes. “All this…
for my father.” He stopped breathing as color faded from his skin.
***
The third day Aesiri went to the lab, she found a vial of
red dragon’s blood.
